Private API Helper not connecting on macOS 26 Tahoe (beta)

[emremeydanci]

Environment:

• macOS: 26.4 (Build 25E5218f) — macOS Tahoe beta
• Architecture: arm64 (Apple Silicon)
• BlueBubbles Server: 1.9.9
• SIP: Disabled

Problem:
Private API helper fails to inject into Messages. helper_connected remains false even with SIP disabled.

Logs:

[MessagesDylibPlugin] Injecting Messages Helper DYLIB...
[MessagesDylibPlugin] Killing process: Messages
[MessagesDylibPlugin] Detected DYLIB crash for App Messages. Error: Process was force quit
[MessagesDylibPlugin] Failed to start Messages Helper DYLIB after 5 tries: Process was force quit
[MessagesDylibPlugin] Failed to start Messages Helper DYLIB 3 times in a row, giving up...

Question:
Is macOS 26 Tahoe supported? Is there a compatible helper DYLIB for this version?

[willsigmon]

Fix Available — Pre-built dylib for macOS 26 Tahoe

I tracked down the root cause and built a fix. The crash happens because _newChatItems on Tahoe returns IMMessageAcknowledgmentChatItem objects in the array, and the helper calls [item index] on them — but that class doesn't have an -index selector (it inherits from IMChatItem, not IMMessagePartChatItem).

Pre-built dylib (drop-in replacement):
https://github.com/willsigmon/bluebubbles-helper/releases/tag/v0.0.22-tahoe

Installation:

1. Quit BlueBubbles
2. Download BlueBubblesHelper.dylib from the release
3. Replace:

cp "/Applications/BlueBubbles.app/Contents/Resources/appResources/private-api/macos11/BlueBubblesHelper.dylib" \
   "/Applications/BlueBubbles.app/Contents/Resources/appResources/private-api/macos11/BlueBubblesHelper.dylib.bak"
cp ~/Downloads/BlueBubblesHelper.dylib \
   "/Applications/BlueBubbles.app/Contents/Resources/appResources/private-api/macos11/BlueBubblesHelper.dylib"

4. Reopen BlueBubbles

Tested on macOS 26.4 (arm64) — helper connects, reply threading and tapbacks work without crashing.

Upstream PR: BlueBubblesApp/bluebubbles-helper#53

Universal binary (x86_64 + arm64 + arm64e), SHA-256: b72486468c03b9e3d5ea9ccda72e71e72b4f08523ad57fa92fa7a7cb27c5d414

[goforbg]

Can you try running? @willsigmon sudo nvram boot-args="amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1 amfi_allow_any_signature=1 -arm64e_preview_abi ipc_control_port_options=0"

[i-am-rad]

@willsigmon tried that and no luck my logs:

[2026-03-20 09:54:43.896][info] [BlueBubblesServer] Finished post-start checks...
[2026-03-20 09:54:45.409][debug] [Messages] [stderr] 2026-03-20 09:54:45.409 Messages[96141:14038115] Warning: The selected font is a system font, but the macOS font panel will not show system fonts to the user. When configuring a text view to display rich text, you should only use fonts that are available for selection (see NSFontManager.availableFonts). A fallback font (Helvetica) will be shown to the user instead.

[2026-03-20 09:54:48.902][info] [BlueBubblesServer] Initializing Update Service..
[2026-03-20 09:55:05.694][debug] [BlueBubblesServer] Detected Private API disable
[2026-03-20 09:55:05.695][info] [PrivateApiService] Stopping Private API Helper...
[2026-03-20 09:55:05.696][debug] [MessagesDylibPlugin] Killing process: Messages
[2026-03-20 09:55:05.714][debug] [Messages] Process was force quit
[2026-03-20 09:55:05.715][debug] [MessagesDylibPlugin] Detected DYLIB crash for App Messages. Error: Process was force quit
[2026-03-20 09:55:05.719][debug] [FaceTimeDylibPlugin] Killing process: FaceTime
[2026-03-20 09:55:05.733][info] [PrivateApiService] Private API Helper Stopped...
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.692][debug] [BlueBubblesServer] Detected Private API selection change
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.693][info] [PrivateApiService] Stopping Private API Helper...
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.694][debug] [MessagesDylibPlugin] Killing process: Messages
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.718][debug] [FaceTimeDylibPlugin] Killing process: FaceTime
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.734][info] [PrivateApiService] Private API Helper Stopped...
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.734][debug] [PrivateApiService] Starting Private API Helper Services...
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.734][info] [PrivateApiService] Starting socket server on port 45672
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.735][debug] [MacForgeMode] Attempting to uninstall Private API Helper Bundle...
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.735][debug] [MacForgeMode] Plugin directory not found: /Library/Application Support/MacEnhance/Plugins
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.735][debug] [MacForgeMode] Plugin directory not found: /Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.735][debug] [MessagesDylibPlugin] Injecting Messages Helper DYLIB...
[2026-03-20 09:55:07.735][debug] [MessagesDylibPlugin] Killing process: Messages

[d47m122]

If it's helpful for anyone else, I used this workaround, swapped the dylib, did library validation disable, csrutil disable, did the arm64e nvram change, as well as the nvram get out of my way noted above, plus code sign the dylib, and then the Private API started to work. It was a bit trial and error, so I'm not clear if every single one of these was required, but once I did that, the Private API showed connected.